Means for feeding air to furnaces.



W. W. EVANS.

MEANS FOR FEEDING AIR TO FURNACES.

APPLIOATION'PILED NOV. 2, 1911.

1,041,761. Patented 0122,1912.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

WYTNESSES V INVENTOR @5 Mun/a COLUMBIA PLANOGRAPH IO-,WASHING'KUN. D. C.

WILLIAM W. EVANS, or SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH.

MEANS FOR FEEDING AIR T0 FURNACES.

One of the objects of the invention is the provision of simple meanssusceptible of being quickly and easily installed and con-. an operatoris structed in such manner that enabled to control the air at the pointswhere the air enters the furnace or fire-box, mixing of the ofcombustionthis in order to assure the volatile gases in the productswith the oxygen, which mixture 18 essential to perfect consumption ofthe gases and other products of combustion.

Another object of the invention 1s the provision in a furnace of meanswhereby the draft in the stack or uptake is enabled to draw air upwardfrom a chamber in communicatlon with the atmosphere and assure thethorough commingling of such air withthe products of combustionincidental to the passage of the latter over the fire or bridge wall ofthe furnace.

Other advantageous characteristics of the invention will be fullyunderstood from the following description and claims when the same areread in connection with the drawings, accompanying and forming part ofthis specification, in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view, partly in section and partly brokenaway, of so much of a furnace as is necessary to illustrate the bestpractical embodiment of my invention that I have as yet devised. Fig. 2is an enlarged detail vertical section taken through the air chamber inthe fire or bridge wall in the direction of the length of said chamber.Fig. 3 is a detail view of the same taken at a right angle to Fig. 2.Fig. 4: is an elevation showing the apertured inner Wall of one of theair chambers at opposite sides of the fire-box and also showing theregulating slide adjacent said wall. Fig. 5 is a horizontal sectiontaken in the plane indicated by the line 5-5 of Fig. 4:. Fig. 6 is anelevation of the regulating slide that is arranged next to the innerside wall of each Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed November 2, 1911.

a plurality Patented Oct. 22, 1912. Serial No. 658,220.

side air chamber. Fig. 7 is an elevation of the slide between which andthe inner side wall of the chamber the slide ShOWn in Fig. 6 isinterposed. Fig. 8 is a transverse section taken in the plane indicatedby the line ac of Fig. 5. Fig. 9 is a plan view showmg the portion of myimprovements that is disposed on the fire or bridge wall of the furnace.

Similar letters designate corresponding parts in all of the views of thedrawings, referring to which:

A is the fire-box of a furnace.

B is the bridge or fire wall of the furnace, and C is a chamber disposedin and extending lengthwise of the said bridge or I however, have ithere understood that without involving departure from the scope of myclaimed invention, one end of the chamber C may be permanently closed insuitable manner in which event the chamber would have but one endadapted to be put in communication with the atmosphere and but one doorfor controlling the said end.

In its top the chamber O is provided with of vertically disposedapertures E, and each of these apertures is arranged in front of anupright bafiie plate F of V- shape in horizontal section, Figs. 1, 2 and9. Each of the said baffle plates F is upright and of V shape inhorizontal section throughout its length, and the concavity at the frontof each is open at its upper end. By virtue of this provision it will beunderstood that the draft in the smoke stack or uptake, not shown, willdraw air from the chamber G in jets through the apertures E and upthrough the concave forward sides of the baflie plates and rearward overthe upper ends of said plates. It will also be understood that theunconsumed gases from the fire-box will be received in the concavitiesof the bafie plates and there commingled with the air, after which thecommingled air and gas will pass upward and rearward over the upper endsof the bafiie plates. Some of the unconsumed gases from the fire-boxwill also travel through the mesh of battle plates and be commingledwith some of the air from the chamber C. Consequently it will beobserved that practically all of the gases that pass to the bridge orfire wall will be effectually consumed before they leave the vicinity ofsaid bridge or wall.

\Vhile I prefer to make the baffle plates F of V-shape or right-angleform in cross-section, I do not desire to be understood as confiningmyself to battle plates of any particular shape, inasmuch as the saidplates may be of any suitable shape in horizontal section that willafford concavities at the forward sides of the plates, without involvingdeparture from the scope of the invention as claimed.

I would. also direct attention to the fact that because of the chamber Cbeing arranged in the bridge or fire wall B, and in proximity to thefire in the fire-box, the air supplied through the apertures E will bein a heated state, and that this also will contribute to the completeand perfect consumption of the gases and other products of combustion.

The side air chambers G of my improved air-feeding means are arranged inthe side walls of the fire-box A with their inner sides flush with theinner sides of said side walls and their bottom walls about two coursesof bricks above the grate H. In the inner side wall a of each chamber Gare two (more or less) rows of apertures b and within each of saidchambers is a guideway a formed between the inner side wall and lowerand upper ribs cl, Fig. 8, spaced therefrom. Each of the said guide-ways0 receives a slide I that is arranged next to the inner side wall of thechamber, and a slide J that is interposed between the slide I and theribs 03. The said slides I and J are provided at their forward ends withhandles 6 so that they can be conveniently ma nipulated, and the slide Iis provided in its forward portion with two (more or less) rows ofapertures f, while its rear portion has two (more or less) longitudinalslots 9 formed in it. The slide J has two (more or less) longitudinalslots h formed in its forward portion, and two (more or less) rows ofapertures z in its rear portion; and it is also provided with lateralprojections j, arranged intermediate the apertures z', and designed torest and be moved in the slots 9 of the slide I.

Each slide I can be operated independently of the adjacent slide J andvice versa, and by reference to Fig. 5 it will be manifest that theopenings in the slides are so disposed that by manipulation of theslides the openings 79 may be opened or closed as desired, and theamount of air supplied the fire-box through the chambers G controlled.For instance by moving the slides I, the openings Z2 in the forwardportions of the chambers G can be opened or closed, while by moving theslides J, the openings 6 in the rear portions of the chambers G can beopened or closed. Again by adjusting both the slides I and the slides J,all of the openings b can be entirely closed or fully opened, in thediscretion of the fireman, or can all be closed to a desired extentaccording to the condition of the fire in the box A.

By virtue of the slides I and J in combination with the perforated wallsof the chambers G, the fireman is enabled to control the air at theplaces where it enters the furnace, this being necessary in order tobring about a thorough mixture of the volatile gases and oxygen andmaintain perfect combustion.

Experiment with an ordinary furnace lacking my improvements hasdemonstrated that when the furnace heat is at the combustion point andfresh coal is thrown into the fire-box, the generation of volatile gasesis started at once by the furnace heat augmented by the fact that theash pit doors are opened. Consequently there is imperfect combustion dueto the lack of oxygen to mix with the rapidly rising volatile gases, andthe result is black smoke. When, however, my improvements are properlyin stalled and manipulated, the volatile gases will be consumed from thetime of starting a fresh fire, and after such consumption all of theapertures b can be closed, whereupon when the ash pit doors IWI areopened, the heat can be extracted from the fixed carbon that is left inthe live coals on the grate bars.

In all three parts of my novel apparatus, it will be noted thatatmospheric pressure cooperates with the draft in the smoke stack oruptake in adequately supplying jets of air to the products ofcombustion; also, that the jets of air are heated precedent to beingdischarged into the fire-box, this latter because of the chambers G andG being adj acent the fire-box.

In the preferred embodiment of my invention, doors, similar to the doorN of Figs. 1 and 5, are hinged to the face plate P of the furnace ad'acent the forward ends of the chambers G and are used, as occasionclemands, to open and close communication between the atmosphere and theinteriors of the chambers G.

In addition to the practical advantages hereinbefore ascribed to mynovel furnace, it will be noted that my novel apparatus is simple andadapted to be readily installed, and that while the apparatus is highlyefficient in operation, it embodies no delicate parts such as are liableto get out of order after a short period of use.

I have entered into a detailed description of the construction andrelative arrangement of the parts comprised in the present and preferredembodiment of my invention in order to impart a full, clear, and exactunnot desire, however, to be understood as confining myself to the saidspecific construction and relative arrangement of parts, as such changesor modifications may be made in practice as fairly fall Within the scopeof my claimed invention.

Having described my invention, What I claim and desire to secure byLetters-Patent,

1. In means for feeding air to furnaces, the combination with thefire-box of a furnace, of an air chamber arranged in a wall of thefire-box and having apertures in its inner side, at intervals of itslength, and an end adapted to be put into communication with theatmosphere and also having longitudinal ribs spaced from said innerside, a slide arranged in the chamber and against the inn-er sidethereof and having apertures at intervals of its length, the series ofsaid apertures extending to a point adjacent one of its ends, and alsohaving a longitudinal slot disposed between the series of apertures andits opposite end, and a slide arranged at the opposite side of thefirst-named slide, with reference to the inner side of the chamber, andhaving apertures at intervals of its length disposed opposite thelongitudinal slot of the first-named-slide and also having a lateralprojection disposed and movable in said slot and further having alongitudinal slot disposed opposite the series of apertures of thefirst-named slide.

2. In means for feeding air to furnaces, the combination with thefire-box of a furnace, of an air chamber arranged in a Wall of thefirebox and having apertures in its inner side at intervals of itslength and also having an end adapted to be connected with theatmosphere, a slide arranged in the chamber and against the inner sidethereof and having apertures at intervals of its length, the series ofsaid apertures extending to a point adjacent one of its ends, and alsohaving a longitudinal slot disposed intermediate the series of aperturesand its opposite end, and a second slide arranged at the opposite sideof the first-named slide, with reference to the inner side of thechamber, and having apertures at intervals of its length disposedopposite the longitudinal slot of the first-named slide and also havinga longitudinal slot disposed opposite the series of apertures of thefirst-named slide.

3. In means for feeding air to furnaces, the combination with thefire-box of a furnace, of an air chamber arranged in a wall of thefire-box and having apertures in its inner side, at intervals of itslength, and also having an end adapted to be connected with theatmosphere, and slides adjustable inclependently of each other; the saidslides being arranged side by side and close together and also close tothe inner side of the chamber and having apertures so relativelyarranged that adjustment of one slide relative to the other will jet airinto the portion of the fire-box adjacent the open end of the chamber,only, and adjustment of the other slide relative to the first mentionedslide will jet air into the portion of the fire-box remote from saidend, only.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in presence of twosubscribing witnesses.

WILLIAM W. EVANS.

I'Vitnesses GEO. F. GooDwIN, ARLINE Rosn.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. G.

